Planoorapir co



B. L. AND E. B. GIFFORD.

FRUIT GHADER.

1 APPLICATION FILED APR-2011917- 3SHEETSSHEET I- j byui 25 25 fer? rd, ILhfizasw: 7 122 3435 s 7467/ }17z/ni7r6i THE COLUMBIA PLANQGRAPH co.,WASHINGTON. n. C-

B. L. AND E. B. GIFFDRD. aun GRADER. APPLICATION FILED APR. 20. I917.

Patented J My 15 1919. a SHEETS-SHEET a Ze'r'Z-QZT. WorZ $4 47 2};

STATES PATENT orrron.

BERT L. GIFFORD AND EDGAR. B. GIFFORD, F BARKER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS T0GIFFORD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF BARKER, NEW YORK,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FRUIT-GRADER.

Application filed April 20, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, BERT L. Girronn and EDGAR B. Grrronn, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Barker, in the county of v Our inventionrelates to improvements in' fruit graders, and more particularly to amachine which is mainly designed for grading apples.

One of the objects of our invention is the provision of a machine'ofsimple construction, which is thoroughly effective in grading apples,peaches, and other fruits, and which may be operated manually or bymeans of any suitable motor.

A further object is the provision of a machine of this kind which willautomatically position apples passing through the machine so that thestem and blow are in a horizontal or substantially horizontal plane andso that the apples may be graded 1n accordance with their diameter takenat right angles to a plane passing through the stem and blow of each.

l/Vith these objects in view, the invention consists in the novelfeatures of construction and in the arrangement and combination of partsto be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in thesubjoined claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed in accordance withour invention, a part of the pressure blanket or cover being broken awayto disclose partsbehindl Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine withthepressure blanket or cover omitted.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section taken on line aa, Fig. 1, thepulley or reel through which said section line is indicated being shownin elevation.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section taken on line 6-6, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a rear View of one end of the gaging or grading board.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal section taken on line 0 0, Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal section taken on line (Zd, Fig. 2,the major portion of the pressure blanket orcove'r being broken away.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1919.

Serial No. 163,433.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line ee, Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a transverse section on a reduced scale, taken on line ff,Fig. 8.

Reference being had to the drawings in detail, like numerals refer tolike parts inthe several figures.

The reference numeral 8 designates a frame which may be constructed inany suitable manner for supporting transversely thereon two shafts 9 and10. This frame is preferably formed of a pair of longitudinally-disposedupper members 11, a pair of similar lower members 12, and legs 13 whichare connected by cross pieces 14 in line with the upper and lowermembers 11, 12, except at one end of the frame where the upper crosspiece is omitted, due to the fact that other parts of the machine occupythe space between the upper members 11; but in order to tie the uppermembers and the legs 13 together at this end, a tie rod 15 is providedwhich is passed through a spacing sleeve 16 and has nuts 17 applied toits outer end, the said spacing sleeve bearing with opposite endsagainst the inner faces of opposite legs 13. l/Ve have also providedtruss rods 18 which are fitted into hangers 19 secured to the uppermembers 11, each of said rods extending in opposite directions from itshanger and having nuts 20 applied to opposite ends to securely tie themembers constituting the frame together. This frame may,

however, be otherwise constructed, if dei that takes into the uppermember 11. One

extension of each bearing 22 is provided with. an upstanding portion 26against which an adjusting screw 27 bears which is threaded through anenlarged head 28 of a bolt 29 having a square portion 30 which is passedthrough the upper member and a reduced cylindrical portion 31 which isthreaded and onto which a. nut 32 is secured,

thus holding the bolt 29 securely to the frame. By loosening the bolts25 the bearings 22 may be adjusted and retained in adj usted position bythe adjusting screws 27.

On the shaft 9 a belt pulley or reel 33 is secured, and passing aroundthis pulley or reel and a pulley or reel 34: secured to the shaft 10 isan endless belt or carrier 35. The shaft 9 is provided at one end with asquare portion 36 onto which is placed a crank handle 37 by means ofwhich the pulley or reel 33 is rotated and consequently the endless beltor carrier driven. It is of course apparent that in lieu of the crankhandle 37, any suitable power element, such as a sprocket wheel, pulley,or the like, may be secured to said shaft, and cooperating elements,such as a sprocket chain or belt utilized for rotating said pulleyor'reel 33 by driving the sprocket chain, belt, or the like, withsuitable power means.

Arranged between the upper members 11 are transverse members 38, whichsupport longitudinal supporting members 39' arranged in planes betweenthe upper members 11, one of said members 39 being of greater depth thanthe other. Mounted on said menrbers 39 is a receivingrack 40'formed ofspaced strips 41 which extend laterally a distance beyond the frame,said strips being arranged in any suitable manner to form the rack, bestshown in Fig. 2, onto Which the fruit is delivered after being passedthmough the machine proper. This rack is inclined so that the fruit willroll toward the longitudinal edge of the same. l\lou-nted on the rack 40is a similarly inclined supporting board 42 over and in contact withwhich the upper stretch of the endless belt or carrier 35' travels,said. upper stretch being therefore inclined laterally.-

At one end of the frame a delivery table 43 is arranged, said tablebeing inclined to deliver the fruit to be graded onto the belt orcarrier at the point 44, and at one side said table is provided with anupstanding Wall 45 which extends to a point in close proximity to thelaterally inclined board 42;

Secured to the rack 40, Oil otherwise suitably secured, are brackets 46,which are spaced, apart, as best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6, land towhich a gaging or grading board 47: is adjustably secured, said boardbeing arranged at an angle to the vertical. Each of the brackets 46 isprovided with a longitudinal slot 64 through which bolts 65' extend thatare passed through the gaging or grading board 47, the projecting endsof said bolts having thumb nuts 66 threaded t'hereon whereby the gagingor grading board may be vertically adjusted toany desired positionwithin certain limits. Secured to the front face of said gaging orgrading. board 47 are brackets 46 in which are journaled grade rollers48 arranged in a plane at a slight angle to the horizontal, each rollerbeing tapered toward the feeding end of the table. The first roller ofthe series is provided at its small end with a cylindrical journal 49while the remaining rollers of the series have square reduced portions50, at their small ends. Each roller also has at its large end acylindrical journal 51: which is journaled in one of the brackets -16,and the journal at the large end' of each roller is provided with asquare socket 52 to receive the squareprojecting portion at the smallend of the next succeeding roller in the series. The rollers aretherefore compelled to rotate together. It is of course understood thatthe journal at the large end of the last roller in the series need notbe provided with a square socket as it is not intended to receive thesquare projecting portion of any other grading roller.

By arranging the series of rollers on a slight incline to the horizontaland also tapering t'heni, fruit passages 53 are provided between therollers and the upper stretch of the endless belt or carrier 35, asclearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4:, these passages be ing successivelyenlarged so that through the passage beneath the first roller only theapples or other fruit of smallest size are permitted to pass, whilethrough the plassage beneath the next roller of the series, apples orother fruit of the next size may pass, all apples of a larger size beingcarried onward" by the belt until they reach a space large enoughto'permit them to pass through.

If, for instance, there are any apples of a larger size than would beable to pass between the last roller of the series and the belt, theywould be carried over the reel or pulley 3-1-l and be discharged at theend of the machine. It is to be noted that the apples when placed uponthe feed table 43 are arranged with their axis substantially vertical,this being the position which they would likely assume owing to the factthat they are naturally flattened at the stem and blow. However, as theyare forced along and delivered onto the endless belt or carrier, theyare caused to move laterally or to the left in Figs. 2 and 3, this beingdue to the inclination at which the upper stretch of the belt or carrieris arranged, and in order that the apples all move along with theirstems andblows directed to the sides of the machine, we" have arrangedto keep the grading rollers in rotation. For this purpose the shaft 9 isprovided with a bevel gear 54 which is in mesh with a bevel gear 55secured to a shaft 56 j-ournaledin bearings 57 secured to the frame 8.On this shaft is secured a pulley 58 around which a belt 59 passes,which belt also passes around the first roller l8 of the series ofrollers, and in order that this roller and the remainlng rollers of theseries rotate in the direction of the arrow 60 in Fig. 4:, said belt iscrossed, thus reversing the direction of movement of therollers from thedirection of movement of the shaft 56.

It is of course understood that 'all the grading rollers of theseriesare caused to rotateby" reason of 'their'having square reducedportions fitting the square sockets of the next preceding roller. Therotation of the grading rollers in the manner described acts to roll theapples to positions in which the stems and blows face laterally inoppo-- site directions, and for this reason the grading is donemostefiiectively, since in every instance the apple is graded accordingto its diameter taken at right angles to a plane passing through thestem and blow. Moreover, by rotatlng the rollers in the directiondescribed, there is no tendency of the apples being crowded between therollers and the carrier, as would be the case if the rolls were rotatedin a reverse direction from that described, which would result inbruises and in some instances entiremashing of the fruit.

Secured to the gaging or grading board 47 is a blanket or cover 61 whichis fastened to the upper edge of said board by a strip 62 through whichand the blanket or cover,

nails 63 are driven that take into the sup-" porting board, as shown inFig. 4. This blanket or covermay be of heavy canvas, or any othersuitable'material, and it ispermitted to droop loosely over the carrierwith the unfastened longitudinal marginal portion thereof extending overthe outer edge of the supporting board 42, thus when the apples aredirected onto the carrier and reach a point oppositethefeeding end ofthe gaging or grading board 47 this blanket or cover assists in crowdingthe apples or other fruit against the grading rollers and overcomes thetendency of said rollers forcing the apples upwardly while moving withthe inclined upper stretch of the carrier. Moreover, after the applesare properly positioned with their axis in the horizontal plane so as toexpose the stems and blows in lateral directions, they are retained insuch position by said blanket or cover while being carried forward bythe belt or carrier 35.

As the grading of fruit is often done in the open, the blanket or cover62 protects the grading rollers, and other parts of the machine from theelements of the weather, which is very desirable, as the warping of theparts would tend to cause an imperfect grading of the fruit. It is to benoted that when using the arrangement of grading rollers described theperipheral faces of the rollers at the bottom are parallel with thecarrier, even though the rollers are tapered and therefore the fruitpassing underneath any grading roller is limited in size regardless ofthe point along the roller that it may be delivered onto the receivingrack 4:0.

It is also to be noted that there is only a comparatively slight dropfrom the carrier to the receiving rack a0, and that in delivering theapples or other fruit from the carrier onto said rack, there is nopossibility of the fruit becoming injured. If desired, the rack may beelevated so that its upper face is level with the inclined boardsupporting the upper stretch of the belt or carrier.

By providing adjusting means for the bearings 34 in which the shaft 10is journaled, the endless belt or carrier may be held taut at all times.

By adjustably supporting the gaging or grading board 47 the fruitpassages 53 may be changed in sizes to accommodate different kinds ofapples or various kinds of fruits. For example, by loosening the thumbnut 66 the grading board may be raised or lowered on the brackets 46 sothat the fruit passages are enlarged or diminished in height, which is avery desirable feature of our invention, since by this means crabapplesor the largest grades of apples may be perfectly graded, and peaches,pears and other fruit as readily grad-ed, as it is onlynecessary toadjust the gaging or grading board so that the intermediate fruitpassage is adjusted to the size approximating the average size of thefruit to be graded.

It is apparent that under the principle involved, this improved fruitgrading machine may be modified in various ways without departing fromour invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is,

1. A fruit grader comprising a traveling carrier inclined laterally,means arranged at one side of said carrier to which it is inclinedproviding passages of different sizes to permit fruit of different sizesto be delivered therethrough while caused to travel forwardly by saidcarrier, and means independent of said traveling carrier for keeping thefruit in contact with the means providing said passages.

2. A fruit grader comprising an endless traveling carrier arrangedhorizontally and having its upper stretch inclined laterally, a gradingboard arranged lengthwise at an angle to said carrier and spacedtherefrom to provide different sized spaces through which differentsized apples or other fruits may pass when moved forwardly by saidcarrier, and means attached to said grading board and hanging looselytherefrom to keep thefruit in contact with said board while travelingforwardly with the carrier.

3. In a fruit grader, means for moving the fruit along a straight courseand for positioning the fruit with their axes transversely in horizontalposition, or approximately so, passages for the fruit arrangedsuccessively to permit successive sizes of fruit to be delivercdlaterally from said carrier, and means for retaining the fruit inposition with their axes horizontal, or approximately so. i p

4. A fruit grader comprising-a lengthwise traveling carrier, a pluralityof longis tudinally-disposed grading rollers spaced from said carrier,said rollers being spaced different distances from said carrier, meansfor rotating said roller in a direction to prevent crushing of the fruitin passing between the same and-said carrier, and means for keeping thefruit in contact with said rollers when moving forwardly on saidcarrier.

5. A fruit grader comprising a longitudinally-disposed travelingcarrier, grading passages arranged at one side of said carrier, andmeans for directing the fruit toward said nassages while traveling forward] y with the carrier.

6. A fruit grader comprising a longitudinally-disposed travelingcarrier, grading passages arranged at one side of said carrier, meansfor directing the fruit toward said passages while traveling forwardwith the carrier, and means for retaining the fruit in close proximityto said passages so that when a passage is reached whose size equals thediameter of the fruit, such fruit may pass laterally through thepassages.

7. A fruit grader comprising a frame, an endless traveling carriersupported by said frame, a grading member arranged at an angle to thecarrying surface of said carrier, grading rollers journaled on saidgrading member and spaced different distances from said carrier andaloosely hanging flexible cover secured to said g'radingmemher andadapted to retainthefruit in contact with said rollers as it istraveling with said a rie y 7 8, A fruit grade]; compri ing a1ongitudinally-di s'posed traveling carrier inclined laterally onedirection, nieans providing passages of different sizes along themarginalportion ofsaidcarrier at the side to which it is inclined, and aloosely hanging flexible elem ent covering said carrier and adapted to"retain the fruitin close proximity to said passages when it is travelingforwardly with said carrier. I i i i 9. In a fruit g ademhe combinationof an endless traveling carrier arranged' so as to direct the fruit toone side thereof, a plurality of grading rollerskspacedi from saidcarrier, lnea isto rotate said rollers a forward and upwarddirectionl.to cause the frnitto assume a o'siti'onwith their axes disposedtransverse y, and meansfor retaining the fruit in contact with saidrollers when positioned and carried forwardly by said carrier. A L v I 110. In a fruit grader, a rectilinearly moving carrier, fruit passages ofsuccessively increasing sizes arranged along the side of saidarrier,means iiidep endent of said carr er for d rect ng the fruit toward saidpassages when travel ng with said carrier.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

BERT GIFFOBD- EDGAR B. GIFFORD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressin'g the (iom niis sio n'er of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

